Kerry says no military solution to Syria crisis

US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the Syrian government and opposition to seize the opportunity presented by the peace talks to achieve a ceasefire in Syria, insisting that there is “no military solution” to the conflict.

"This morning, in light of what is at stake in these talks, I appeal to both sides to make the most of this moment," the top US diplomat said Sunday in an online statement from Washington.

While Kerry’s remarks appeared pointed at both sides, his message was clearly aimed at the opposition, which has threatened to abandon the talks before they start.

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), a Saudi-backed coalition of Syrian opposition groups, had finally said on Friday that it was willing to participate in the negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The opposition has demanded that humanitarian aid be allowed to flow to militant-held towns, besieged by government forces, as a precondition for the negotiations.

Kerry called on them to engage in the talks without any preconditions, while accusing both sides of making the humanitarian situation worse.

"The town of Madaya is just an hour's drive from Damascus and yet its people have been reduced to eating grass and leaves," Kerry said.

"How have the regime and the militias that support it responded? By planting landmines and erecting barbed wire to keep relief workers out," he added.

While the United States says representatives of the Syrian government should participate in the talks, it insists President Bashar al-Assad cannot be part of Syria’s future.

Russia and Iran, two participants in the talks, say that decision is up to the Syrian people. The US, Saudi Arabia and over two dozen other countries are taking part in the talks.

The talks are to be held in an 18-month timetable under a resolution unanimously approved by the UN Security Council on Syria last December.

The head of the Syrian government delegation to the talks said Sunday that Damascus was prepared to find a solution to the crisis in the country.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, who is also the Syrian ambassador to the UN, told reporters in Geneva that the Syrian government wants to put an “end to the bloodshed” in Syria.

However, he complained that “the full list of participants is unknown as of yet. UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura does not know it either.” 

Syria has been grappling with a foreign-backed militancy since early 2011. More than 260,000 people have reportedly been killed and almost eight million others have been displaced. 

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